Roy Pitz Best Blonde Ale

On my most recent visit to McGrath's in Harrisburg, I noticed that they tapped a keg of Roy Pitz Best Blonde Ale. Roy Pitz is a new brewery from Chambersburg, PA. This was my first taste of their beer, and I was pretty excited. The beer pours a light yellow color with a thin bubbly white head. The beer is fairly clear and light colored. The aroma consists of wheat and apricot. The taste is also wheat and apricot and very light bodied. The alcohol content is 4.0% ABV. I thought that this Kolsch style was decent but not too special. It was very clean and crisp with a good apricot flavor.

Troegs Scratch 31- IPA "Citra of Brotherly Love"

I stopped by the Troegs brewery to pick up some six-packs of the latest Scratch Beer. Scratch 31- IPA, nicknamed Citra of Brotherly Love, was brewed for Philly Beer Week with citra hops, the first for Troegs. The beer pours a brilliant golden color with a bubbly white head that has a good lace that sticks to the edge of the glass. The aroma consists of sour grapefruit and a light hint of pepper. The taste consists heavily of grapefruit that is still somewhat sour and some lemon and pepper. The alcohol content is 7.4% ABV. This is exactly the IPA I would expect Troegs to make, as the grapefruit hops really make this very intensive yet extremely enjoyable. The hops are not overdone and this is a very smooth drinking beer.

Appalachian Brewing Company Batch No. 666

I stopped into Appalachian Brewing Company to pick up a couple of bottles of Batch No. 666. This beer had been released previously, but the brewery decided to bottle and sell it. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan head. The aroma consists of a heavy dose of chocolate, coffee, and cream. The taste is very bold and empowering in the mouth. There is plenty of chocolate and coffee on the front end that is sweetened a bit by some honey. The alcohol also has an immediate impact in biting the sides of the mouth. The flavor then transforms into an oak/wood flavor. The finish brings a bit of fig and dark fruit along with it and dry out the back of the mouth with cinnamon and nutmeg. The alcohol content is 7.7% ABV. This was a thoroughly delicious brew, but I would only have to question the timing of the release in bottles. It is somewhat of a winter warmer, and it was released a week before summer starts. I don't mind terribly, as I will drink a good beer anytime of the year. This beer definitely fits the bill of a beer that I will drink anytime, and I recommend you get a bottle before it's gone...forever?

Troegs Sunshine Pilsner

I picked up a case of Troegs Sunshine Pilsner for poker night at my house (I'm pretty nice to my guests, aren't I?). The beer pours a clear yellow color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of sour hops with a healthy backbone of malts. The taste is light and malty with a crisp hop bite on the side of the mouth. There is a light lemon zest hidden in the background of this beer with a nice helping of wheat as well. The alcohol content is 5.3% ABV. I thought that Troegs has nailed the pilsner style and has provided a perfect, refreshing beer that actually has flavor unlike the mega-breweries' yellow fizzy water. On a hot day in the summer, Sunshine Pilsner is the beer you want to be drinking.

Avery-Russian River Collaboration Not Litigation Ale

I picked up a bottle of the Avery-Russian River collaboration brew called Collaboration Not Litigation Ale. The beer pours a dark golden color with a foamy white head. The aroma consists of yeast, honey, plums, and some toasted malts. The taste is sweet and full of yeast and honey. The taste has a healthy dose of candisugar as well, with an added bit of plums. There is a bready finish as well with a light hop bite of the back of the tongue. The alcohol content is 8.21% ABV. This was a very interesting brew/ I definitely did not hate it, but I couldn't come around to love it either. There were plenty of flavors to excite the tongue, but I almost feel that they didn't blend well with each other. Regardless, I wouldn't turn this beer down if I was offered it, I'm just not so sure I would go out and buy it again.

Founders KBS

I was lucky enough to secure a bottle of Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) from Brass Rail in Campbelltown. The beer pours a dark black color with a thin bubbly tan head. The aroma is deeply filled with chocolate and coffee and a hint of cream. The taste packs a powerful punch of chocolate and coffee and does not shy away from hinting at a high alcohol content. In the background is some oak and bourbon tastes that stick to the outside of the mouth. The finish to the beer is slightly creamy, but really bites with alcohol and some floral hops. The alcohol content is 11.2% ABV. I am not surprised as to how delicious this beer is, as the beer is aged for an entire year in bourbon barrels. The normal chocolate and coffee flavors are ever-present, but the oak and bourbon additions really make drinking this beer a pleasurable experience.

Southampton Grand Cru

I picked up a bottle of Southampton Grand Cru from Al's of Hampden. The beer pours a golden amber color with a lofty bubble white head. The aroma consists of of orange citrus and coriander with an underlying smell of cream. The taste consists of very spicy at first with coriander, but finishes smooth and sweet with an orange flavor. There is a lot of carbonation in this beer, but it does not ruin the texture or flavor. The beer has a burnt caramel finish on the back of the tongue. The alcohol content is 9.8% ABV. It is noticeable in the flavor and by the pinch on the tongue that this beer has a high alcohol content. I was thoroughly impressed with this Grand Cru. I was overwhelmed with the orange flavor and it was delicious. I will definitely seek this beer out again to purchase.

Smuttynose IPA

I ordered a glass of Smuttynose IPA on my last visit to Brew House in Camp Hill. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white head. The aroma is faint but what is there is big on lemon and pepper. The taste is very lemony with sugar with a hint of grapefruit and pepper. The finish is dry on the back of the mouth and lingers. There is also some orange too with hints of pine. The alcohol content is 6.9% ABV. This was a solid performer as an IPA and was very enjoyable. I like the grapefruit hints in the beer that really added to the lemon and pepper base.

Lake Placid Honey Rye

While at Brew House in Camp Hill, my sister ordered a Lake Placid Honey Rye and let me have a try. The beer pours an amber color with a filmy white head that is barely there. There is a light rye aroma with hints of honey, rye, and green tea. The taste consists of lemon and tea with some minor bits of rye. A slight dryness on the back of the mouth arrives for the finish. The alcohol content is not posted online, but I would guess it to be around 5.5% ABV. I thought that this beer had a very similar taste to lemon in honey green tea. It was very refreshing for a warm summer day but had plenty of flavor levels.

Founders Dirty Bastard

I ordered a glass of Founders Dirty Bastard while I was at Brew House in Camp Hill. The beer pours a dark amber color with a thick foamy tan head. The aroma consists of caramel, toffee, and sweet malts with some hidden hops. The taste is sweet and caramel with a light hop dryness on the finish. There is also a light orange hint in the finish. The alcohol content is 8.3% ABV. This was a very pleasant beer with a good sweet flavor of caramel and toffee but a nice hop balance. The orange twist that arrives on the finish really makes the beer refreshing.

Lake Placid Ubu Ale

I ordered a glass of Lake Placid Ubu Ale from McGrath's in Harrisburg. The beer pours a dark amber color with a thick foamy white head. The aroma is creamy and malty. The taste is creamy and smooth with toasted malts and a light hop bite . The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. The thought the Ubu Ale was delicious, but not very dynamic. As you may be able to tell from the tasting notes, there was not a variety of flavors. However, that does not make this a bad beer. In fact, it is quite solid.

Furthermore Fatty Boombalatty

McGrath's in Harrisburg recently tapped a keg of Furthermore Fatty Boombalatty (great name!), so I decided to order a glass. The beer pours a golden yellow color with a thin filmy white head. The aroma consists of banana and wheat with some candisugar. The taste is full of banana and pepper, a good balance of sweet but spicy. There is also a good alcohol bite with some hidden raisin flavor. The coriander then takes over the mouth. The beer finishes with good amounts of yeast and some mandarin orange citrus. The alcohol content is 7.2% ABV. The really liked this Belgian Pale Ale and would definitely order another glass. It was clear that the goal of the brewer was to perfectly balance the beer with a few hidden flavors.

Duck-Rabbit Amber Ale

Another beer that was in the Duck-Rabbit sampler pack was the Amber Ale. The beer pours a golden-amber color with a lofty foamy white head. The aroma consists of caramel malts with sour hops and a hint of orange citrus. The taste is malty and sweet, with caramel providing the backbone. The beer finishes with a sour hop taste with bits of yeast on the outside of the tongue. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. Duck-Rabbit has provided a solid performer in the Amber Ale category. It was overdone, but also not too experimental. Either way, I'll still drink it again and enjoy it a lot.

Duck-Rabbit Brown Ale

As part of the variety pack that my friend Jeff brought to my Memorial Day picnic was the Duck-Rabbit Brown Ale. The beer pours a reddish-brown color with a lofty foamy off-white colored head. The aroma is malty, and smells like Cheerios and molasses. The taste is malty and bitter, mostly due to sour and bitter hops. There is also a bit of nuttiness in the taste. The alcohol content is 5.6% ABV. I thought that this was a well balanced and enjoyable Brown Ale. It may finish a little dryer than expected, but it did not hinder the experience.

Duck-Rabbit Porter

My friend Jeff brought the variety pack from Duck-Rabbit to my Memorial Day cookout. One of the beers in the pack was the Porter. The beer pours a deep dark brown color with a lofty bubbly tan head. The aroma consists of chocolate niblets and toasted malts. The taste is roasted malts and a hint of dry chocolate. There is plenty of oak flavors as well and a sweetness in the middle that likens to cherries. The alcohol content is 5.7% ABV. I thought this was a rather delicious porter with a great wood accent. The wood flavor helped dry out the beer on the finish, making a nice unique experience.